This thesis aims to investigate women&rsquo / s oppression through analyzing the overlapping features of hegemonic ideology of beauty and fashion. The major goal of the study is to examine how beauty ideology is constructed and how it is practiced in the case of fashion. Additionally, the intersecting discourses of capitalist system and patriarchy have been questioned to understand women&rsquo / s oppression, as suggested by Dual-System theorists. Therefore, throughout the study, the common interests of capitalist and patriarchal systems in reproducing oppressive body politics have been demonstrated.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 179-191). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pennsylvania State University, 2009. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. Thesis advisor: Richard A. Walter.

While it's clear that the objectification of women is a prominent feature of Western society, it is far less clear what it actually means to be objectified. Philosophers, feminist scholars and psychologist agree that objectification involves a denial of humanity, however, the nature of this dehumanization has yet to be explained. Although existing research provides evidence that objectified women are associated both with objects and animals, no research has examined the conditions under which women are likely to be dehumanized by one form or another. Here, I propose that animalization, characterized by an association with animals, occurs when a woman is portrayed in a sexualized manner. In contrast, objectification, characterized by an association with objects, occurs when a woman is portrayed with a focus on her appearance. Two studies were designed to test this hypothesis. Study 1 found that when participants were primed with an image of a sexualized woman, they were more likely to animalistically dehumanize her (which is consistent with likening to animals). Conversely, when participants were primed with an image of a "beautified" woman, they were more likely to mechanistically dehumanize her (which is consistent with likening to objects). Study 2 attempted to make this link more directly by measuring implicit associations between women, objects, and animals as a function of the image prime, but failed to find the hypothesized result. This research provides the first empirical evidence that different portrayals of women (either sexualized or with a focus on appearance) implicate different forms of dehumanization.

This essay examines gender normative and patriarchal elements of the popular fairy            tale Sleeping Beauty in order to expose how patriarchal ideals are upheld. The reason for this is that children may internalize the values taught in these stories, which may lead to them perpetuating patriarchal ideals and gender normative behavior. The popular version of this fairy tale, made by Disney, follows many of the typical patriarchal ideals with a strong male hero, a wicked female witch and a weak and submissive young female, close to nature. This is contrasted by a modern retelling by Cameron Dokey that is, in many ways, gender subversive and challenges the traditional gender roles and attributes. This essay finds that the version made by Disney is a product of its time, and portrays ideals from that period that could affect children of today into internalizing archaic patriarchal ideals. Dokey’s version is better adapted to the current socio-cultural environment and succeeds in aligning the story with modern values and provides a better option to teach children the actual values and gender roles of our society. / Denna uppsats undersöker könsnormativa och patriarkala element i den populära sagan Törnrosa, för att blottlägga hur patriarkala ideal upprätthålls. Anledningen till detta är att barn kan internalisera de värderingar som lärs ut i dessa sagor, vilket kan leda till att de upprätthåller patriarkala ideal och könsnormativa beteenden. Disneys populära version av sagan följer många av de typiska patriarkala idealen, med en stark manlig hjälte, en ond kvinnlig häxa och en svag och undergiven ung kvinna, som är nära kopplad till naturen. Denna version kontrasteras av en modern återberättelse av sagan skriven av Cameron Dokey som på många sätt utmanar traditionella patriarkala könsnormer och sttribut. Disneys version är en produkt av sin tid, och porträtterar ideal från den tiden som kan påverka dagens barn att internalisera ålderdomliga könsideal. Dokeys version är bättre anpassad till den nuvarande socio-kulturella miljön och lyckas med att justera historian till att bättre passa moderna värderingar, och framstår som ett bättre alternativ för att lära barn vårat samhälles könsroller och värderingar.

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the knowledge and perceptions on the sun, risks of prolonged exposure, tanning and beauty of young Canadian women. Conversations with 15 young pregnant women from the University of Ottawa were tape-recorded, transcribed, and then analyzed using thematic analysis and theories on gender and beauty. The results were divided into two articles, the first exploring the perception and knowledge young Canadian women have about the sun, tanning and its risks. In the first article, the themes generated were (a) perceptions of benefits and risks of sun exposure; (b) outdoor versus Indoor tanning; (c) conformity; (d) conflicting and ambiguous messaging; (e) self risk and other’s risk and; (f) no UV index awareness. The second article explores how the fifteen interviewees make sense of the sun safety messaging they are exposed to, and how they act on it. The themes identified were: (a) tanning as a social activity; (b) beauty; (c) base tanning; and (d) wearing SPF and reapplication. The overall conclusion to be drawn from this study is that while for the most part the group of women I interviewed was well informed when it came to sun safety and tanning, they still felt the pressure to tan from peers, society and the media. There were times when they shared that they were misinformed on the risks of engaging in harmful tanning practices. Further, the study contributed to finding that the vast majority of the participants admitted to not checking the UV index before going outdoors, either because they did not understand it or because they felt it would not make a difference to their daily practices and behaviours. This contradicted previous literature that emphasized on the connection Canadians often made with the environment and UV index. Impacts, implications, and future research directions are discussed in both articles.

Syftet med undersökningen är att analysera hur svensk dagspress framställer Fotografiska museets utställning Burning Beauty med fotografier av David LaChapelle genom hur konstkritikerna framställer konsten och konstnären som person. Undersökningsmaterialet består av artiklar, konst- och kulturtidskrifter, nättidskrifter och radioreportage i Sverige under eller inför utställningen. Jag har genom att närläsa artiklarna undersökt vilka ord och formuleringar som förekommer vid beskrivningen av utställningen, konstnären och konsten. Konstkritikerna framställer utställningen som välgjord och ett unikt tillfälle att få se en konstnärskarriär under ett och samma tak då den innehåller över 250 bilder från 1980-talet fram till 2012. Det är den största utställningen som Fotografiska museet visat och den största utställningen som LaChapelle haft. Den liknas vid en neonlysande regnbåge som följer väggarna på Fotografiska. LaChapelles bilder är ofta fyllda med budskap och detaljer och då Fotografiska visar bilderna i enorma format framgår dessa tydligare menar man. Vad gäller konsten så framställs den som pastischer på kända verk ifrån renässansen och barocken. Kritikerna menar att kända konstnärer som Michelangelo och Botticelli har inspirerat LaChapelles konst. Jag har kommit fram till att kritikerna delvis oreflekterat recenserar bilder från två helt olika typer av produktion utan att särskilja dem. De två olika produktionerna är de kommersiella bilderna innan 2006 och de civilisationskritiska bilderna efter 2006. Han slutade då att ta kommersiella uppdrag vilket har resulterat i en mer civilisationskritisk konst med konstnärlig frihet som följd. Vissa kritiker skildrar hela vidden av konstnärskarriären medan vissa kritiserar de tidigare verken. Den civilisationskritiska konsten har möjliggjort en plats på gallerierna för LaChapelle. Kritikerna är skeptiska inför den civilisationskritiska konstnären och ifrågasätter att han skulle ha ett genuint engagemang i de frågor som LaChapelle lyfter. Han lyfter ämnen som konsumtion, människohandel och religion. Kritikerna anser att han har för stor del av konsumtionskulturen genom sina kommersiella bilder för att kunna kritisera konsumtionskulturen på ett trovärdigt sätt. Genom att studera uppkomsten av vissa kändisporträtt framgår det tydligt att LaChapelle fortfarande 2012 tar kommersiella uppdrag. Skillnaden är friheten i att kunna välja de jobb han vill ha. LaChapelle har som konstnär uppnått stjärnstatus. När han fotograferar kändisar räknas detta som ett kvitto på ytterligare stjärnstatus. Han kan alltså glorifiera kändisar genom att fotografera dem. Detta gäller både i de kommersiella bilderna såväl som i de konsumtionskritiska. Han har uppnått ekonomisk frihet och kan själv välja vilka uppdrag han vill göra. Kritikerna har svårt att koppla honom till de färgsprakande bilder han producerar och till det liv han fört. De framställer honom som en timid och lågmäld 45-åring. Han har sedan länge ansetts vara Hollywoods favoritfotograf och sägs ha levt nattklubbsliv under merparten av sin karriär. Den person som står framför kritikerna under invigningen av Burning Beauty motsvarade inte deras förväntningar.

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This study explores the paradoxical nature of cultural norms of feminine perfection and the strategies women employ to manage those paradoxes. Following an analysis of the cultural discourses surrounding women and perfection, this study uses portraiture to highlight how five women face perfection in their lives. Portraiture as a method employs careful, detailed narratives of a participant. The portraits from five participants, from different generations, ethnicities, races, and socio-economic backgrounds are provided and analyzed. Each portrait participant in this study represented a facet of feminine perfection, such as physical, relational, or career. From these portraits, distinct management strategies emerged. While each participant experienced perfection in unique ways, they all were able to transcend the paradoxical tensions of perfection by framing and creating boundaries around how they would personally manage perfection. These accounts suggest that women work within the constraints of cultural norms to create stable identities.

This thesis investigates, through a body of interdisciplinary artwork, the representation of the grotesque body. It examines how it might be possible to manipulate the iconography of attraction and repulsion in contemporary art with the aim of confusing the binary opposition of what signifies pleasure and disgust. Each of the three artworks function to draw the audience into a powerful and affective relationship with representations that are simultaneously appealing and revolting. Using a number of modes and techniques to disrupt the dyad, including audience interaction and the use of seductive visual forms, the work focuses on my body as a site for the development of new knowledge about the representation of the non-preferred body. By bringing together otherwise unrelated discourses such as horror and formalist abstract painting, the artwork in this study attempts to call into doubt received wisdom about the nature of beauty and ugliness. There are a lexicon of different artistic mediums explored in this project including performance, installation, video and photography. The engagement with these disciplines represents an attempt to speculate on how we know and experience the body in an increasingly mediatised world. This research is also a key means of highlighting how our understanding of the body is informed by the differing effects of timebased, photographic and performative media. By creating a series of dialogues between the live and the virtual, timebased and static imagery, and the fragmentary body and its relationship to the holistic body, this project seeks to activate in the viewer/participant, a critical self-reflexivity. I ask how it is possible to know and experience corporeality in a virtual world of digitally manipulated bodies.